Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) at Bald Head Island, Brunswick Co., NC

North Carolina's first "chaseable" Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus, formerly Nyctea scandiaca) was found in the dunes four miles south of Fort Fisher on 11/24/2001. We relocated him on 11/27/01 about one mile further south, on Bald Head Island (AKA Smith Island), which is now connected to Fort Fisher. The bird was last seen on 12/3/01.

The bird spent some time preening and looking around, but was mostly resting. We got a nice view of its absurdly feathered feet when it waddled from one dune to another, but I couldn't get a shot.

This shows you how distant we were when I took these shots. You can't even see a white dot at 1x (the owl is under the bar). (That's Keith Camburn looking through my scope.)

At 4x you can barely see there is a white dot in the center. To the right is the "Old Baldy" lighthouse.